Electric governor for signaling-circuits



(No Model.)

J. B. GUR RIE R -& D. H. RICE. ELECTRIC GOVERNOR FOR SIGNALING CIRCUITS.No. 491,532.

Patented Feb. 14, 1893.

NITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

JACOB B. OURRIER AND DAVID HALL RICE, OF LOWVELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC GOVERNOR FOR SIGNALING-CIRCUITS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,532, dated February14, 1893.

Application filed December 1, 1882- SerialNo. 78,1Q1. (N0 model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JACOB B. OURRIER and DAVID HALL RICE, of the cityof Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Governors, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the class of electric governors shown anddescribed in the application of Jacob B. Currier Serial No. 47,978 filedDecember 15, 1881, and in which the current passing through the magnetof the governor inter-poses in the circuit an air bridge through whichthe electricity is obliged to pass after the line and magnets thereonare energized with a certain amount of the electric current necessary toenable them to do their work; this air bridge being varied by the powerof the magnet to present a greater or less resistance and keep thecurrent Within a certain maximum limit, and our invention consists ininterposing in the circuit a resistance bridge around the governor, bywhich means we keep the governor more steady in its operation, andenable it to interpose an air bridge of greater resistance withoutbreaking the circuit, all substantially as hereinafter described.

It has been well known that when two points of a circuit are inelectrical contact, and are capable of being withdrawn from each other,if one is withdrawn slightly the electrical current still continues topass for an appreciable time, as is seen in the case of a circuitbreaker making and breaking the circuit three hundred and sixty thousandtimes per minute, where the continued passage of the electric current,after the actual breaking of the contact affects the time of the latterperceptibly. Scientists have suggested that the spark caused by thebreaking of the circuit affords a medium for this passage of the currentthrough space. lhe electric governor of Mr. Currier referred to wasconstructed to render the resistance of this space available, and neverallow its contact points to recede from each other so far as to entirelyinterrupt the passage of the electric current, so as to interrupt orbreak up the action of the make and break caller circuit breakeremployed with the Currier bells and it was found capable of doing thiswithin certain limits. If, however, battery power beyond a certainamount was used, and the governor was required to cut out a large excessof it, the mere momentum given to the governor magnet armature was suchthat it continued to rise too far and actually broke the circuitentirely, and this at once caused the Currier bell in the circuit beingrung to stop, as the rise and fall of the governor armature werenecessarily different from that of the circuit breaking caller, andconsequently disturbed the synchronous action of the vibrating currenton the bell hammer. Besides this the armature with a strong excess ofcurrent when it did not actually break the circuit had a movement up anddown (owing to its mere momentum) above and below the space within whichthe magnet would otherwise have kept it but for its con? stantly beingcarried past this space upward and downward by this momentum.

Our invention is intendedto overcome these difficulties, and give thegovernor a wide range of resistance in circuit with a steadier operation.

In the drawings: Figure 1. is a plan view of a governor provided withour improvement and connected circuit of bells. Fig. 2. is a side viewof the governor.

A is the base board of the governor made of wood or other non-conductingmaterial.

B is the governor magnet attached to the base board.

0 is a bracket attached to the base board in which a tube of insulatingmaterial a is secured having a screw threaded hole through its center.

b is a screw of metal fitting the hole in a.

c is a metallic nut on the screw below the insulating tube a to bind thescrew in place and to which the screw cup 6 is connected electrically;from c the line D passes through battery E to ground G.

fis the armature of the governor magnet to which is firmly attached therod f extendin g through a hole in the bracket, g, in which it plays upand down freely. From the bracket 0 two pins 9 g project upward throughholes in the armature f so that the armature can freely work up and downupon them, the pins g g and rod f forming guides to keep the armature inposition. The point I) of the screw 1) comes against the center of thearmature on the under side and sustains it in elec- ICO trical contactwith the screw. From the upper end of the rod f the wire (Z leads to oneterminal of the magnet and the other terminal of the magnet coil isconnected to the screw cup e as shown. From the screw cup 6 the line Dleads through the bell magnets M. M. to the ground G. So far thegovernor is substantially the same as that of Mr. Gurrier referred to.

Our improvement consists of inserting be- .tween the screw cups 8 e aresistance bridge N. electrically connecting them together, which, inthis instance, is shown in the form of a coil of wire, or spool, havingits opposite ends n a electrically connected to the screw cups e c. Thisresistance bridge N must be of the maximum amount of resistance which itis desired to putinto the line by the governor and it may be made ofother materials than the wire described which will present the requiredresistance to the electric current passing through it.

The operation of the invention is as follows: Suppose it is desired toenergize the magnets M. M. with a given amount of the electric currentand no more. The screw 11 is elevated or depressed until it is foundthat the armaturefdoes not begin to be raised from the contact point I)by any less amount of the electric current. It now the battery be madeto send over the circuit D any greater amount of the electric currentthan the governor is thus set for, the excess of current will at oncecause the magnet B to raise the armature f slightly and a sufficientdistance to interpose the required resistance to prevent the magnet Mfrom being saturated with more electricity than desired, when thearmaturef will be kept with comparative steadiness within the limitswhere it inter-poses the necessary amount of resistance and theelectricity will be seen passing in the form of a continuous spark fromthe contact 1) to the armaturef.

For some cause which we do not attempt to explain the resistance bridgeN is found to steady the armature in its position and prevent its risingso high as to break the passage of electricity between the point Z) andthe armaturef when quite powerful currents of electricity are used. Itis obvious that the regulator will therefore automatically interposeresistance in the circuit to any desired degree between the differenceof resistance of the governor magnet B and the bridge N, as the screw bis set.

e purpose to use this invention in operating the well known Currierindividual bell, to prevent an excess of electrical current from passingthrough the bell magnets M M, the bells to be operated in the usual andwell-known manner; but it is susceptible of use in many othersituations. By the use of the resistance bridge N. we eifectuallyprevent the governor from breaking the circuit too far and thus stoppingthe ringing of the bell when electric currents of more than a certainpower are used.

What we claim as new and of our invention 1s:

1. The combination of the electric circuit, the magnet, B, located insaid circuit, its ar mature, f, arranged to be drawn toward the magnetand increase the resistance by an excess of the electric current, thecontact point, 1), arranged in the circuit to support said armature, andthe resistance bridge, N, arranged to shunt a portion of the electriccurrent around said magnet and armature, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the electric circuit, the magnetB located therein,its armatu re, f, arranged to be drawn toward it by an excess of theelectric current, the adjustable contact point, I), arranged to supportthe magnet, and the resistance bridge, N, arranged to shunt a portion ofthe electric current around said magnet, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the electric circuit, a magnet, M, located thereinand provided with a vibrating armature arranged to be actuated by avibratory electric current, the magnet, B, located in said circuit, itsarmature,f, arranged to be drawn toward the magnet andincrease theresistance by an excess of the electric current, the contact point, 1),arranged in the circuit to support said armature, and the resistancebridge, N, arranged to shunt a portion of the electric current aroundsaid magnet and armature, substantially as described.

JACOB B. CURRIER. DAVID HALL RICE.

\Vitnesses:

W. A. CASARARD, CHAS. T. HOWE.

